Caligo Solaris
by Seshat Teirm
Summary: The First is defeated. Cordy has been revealed. What's left for the survivors to do?
1. Reminiscences and Tear Tracks

Disclaimer: Come on. Really. A/N: AU after Storyteller.  
  
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Dawn looked at Morgan in the rear-view mirror. She wasn't sure if she believed it. She wasn't sure if she could believe it. Five people. Out of god knows how many potentials and the entire Scooby Gang, plus Principal Wood, there were five people left. A girl who shouldn't exist, a high school principal, a carpenter, a geek and a three year old girl.  
  
She, of course, would be the girl who shouldn't exist. She didn't know how she survived when all the potentials hadn't. They had been trained, even if just for a little while. They were faster and stronger, even if just a little bit. They were the ones with the destinies, even if they did suck.  
  
Okay so not all the potentials had died, but Morgan hadn't even been in the fight, she was three for God's sake. She and Andrew had hid in a closet for the most part.  
  
Dawn remembered when Giles had brought Morgan to the house. He'd been gone for a week looking for the latest potential. They were all a little nervous when he came back. After what happened with Chloe everyone was on edge. When he'd lead Morgan in through the door Dawn had finally found out what a deafening silence was.  
  
They'd all been shocked. Dawn thought that maybe that was what really put the fight into them. Morgan. They looked at her, a little girl, and knew that she would one day die, and they, all of them, wanted to keep that from happening for as long as possible. They trained harder after Morgan arrived, and when the time had finally come they'd all been ready to die. Most of them did.  
  
Dawn still wasn't sure on the details of what happened. She didn't think anybody was. Most of the potentials had died in the initial skirmish. Amanda had been gutted right in front of her. Molly was drained by a vampire. They'd been the first two to die. After that it was mostly a blur for Dawn.  
  
She spared a cautious glance at Xander in the driver's seat. He was staring straight ahead, eyes on the road. He had stitches on his forehead that would probably leave a scar, there was a bandaged on his throat; it was pretty obvious what kind of wound that was; his wrist was sprained and she couldn't see it but she knew his ribs were taped up. That was just the physical damage though. Dawn knew that was nothing compared to the emotional pain he was in right now.  
  
He'd watched Anya die. Held her in his arms as her blood soaked his clothes. Dawn hadn't known so much blood could come from one person, and Anya wasn't even all that big. Something had come over Xander after that. His eyes had changed, gotten harder and closed, and Dawn was kind of scared because they hadn't changed back. She didn't want to think what would happen if they stayed that way forever. She didn't think she was ready to handle that right now.  
  
Kennedy had died protecting Willow. Willow was so caught up in her spell that she didn't even know it until after the fight was over. She'd been devastated, not like when Tara died; she hadn't gone on a killing spree or anything; but her eyes had lost what little sparkle they'd regained.  
  
Buffy had been the worst. Dawn had watched, frozen, as her sister, her hero, her mother if you looked at it a certain way, threw herself into the Hellmouth. Buffy had said the First would choke on her. She'd been right. Score one for Slayer prophetic dreams. See, Dawn made a funny, ha ha. Or not.  
  
Giles had a theory on why a new Slayer was activated after Buffy died in the fight with the First and not with Glory. He said that while her body had remained behind when she jumped through the portal her essence or soul or whatever may have been transported to another dimension; in which case she hadn't actually died, just, gone away for awhile.  
  
They'd been hoping they'd missed a potential after the fight, but it was pretty obvious Morgan was the new Slayer when she pushed the couch two feet.  
  
Amazingly enough, it was Andrew who came up with the idea. They'd all been wary at first, Giles most of all, but after weighing their options Dawn had demanded they do it. Willow said they only reason it would work was because Dawn had Buffy's blood and because she was the Key. They'd given her Slayer powers. Actually they'd made her a Slayer. Willow had remembered what Buffy told her about her vision of the three guys who created the Slayer and she'd tried to recreate that as much as she could.  
  
They'd used Buffy's heart. That was the part that bothered Dawn the most. They'd used Buffy's heart, her sister's heart, to make her a Slayer.  
  
Well, she wasn't quite a Slayer. Sure, the abilities were the same, but the power source, she guessed that's what it was, was way different. Slayer's got their power from, well, she didn't really know. They thought maybe it was whatever demon the three guys with the sticks had used, but there was no way to be sure. Dawn's power came from herself. Whatever it was that made her the Key also fuelled her newly acquired abilities.  
  
The spell had killed Willow and Giles. Willow had been weak from the spell to defeat the First. She'd had to borrow power from Giles, but he'd been injured and he was weak too. They'd known what would happen. They'd told Xander so he could explain it to Dawn so she wouldn't blame herself. Not that it worked.  
  
They didn't know for sure what happened to Spike, but Dawn had found a pile of dust on the back porch and his duster had been lying on the couch. Dawn had offered it to Robin, it was his mother's after all, but he'd told her to keep it.  
  
"You're the new Slayer." He'd said. "It's yours now. Maybe one day you can give it to Morgan." He'd thought his mom would have liked that. Future generations of Slayers wearing her duster, saving the world in her duster. He'd left the house real quick after that; said he had to get to work. It was a Saturday.  
  
It had been three days. Three days since the First was defeated. Three days since Buffy died. Three days since they saved the world. Funny, no one was celebrating. Come to think of it, no one had celebrated after the last two apocalypses either. Go figure.  
  
They were on their way to LA; her, Xander and Morgan. She had just a small duffel and the emergency kit Robin gave Buffy. Morgan just had a backpack. Xander didn't even have a change of clothes.  
  
She was going on the run. Her and Morgan. It was safer that way. There was less chance of the demons finding Morgan. Dawn had to protect her now.  
  
She looked in the rearview mirror again. She looked so peaceful when she was asleep. Dawn could almost ignore the tear tracks. She sighed, returning her attention to the passing scenery.  
  
She pretended not to notice her own tears. 


	2. Don't Cry

A/N: AU after Soulless  
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Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.  
  
It had been two weeks. Two weeks since they found out that Cordy wasn't really Cordy. Two weeks since Angel got his soul back. Two weeks since Cordy, no not Cordy, a demon, killed his father. Two weeks since he and Faith killed Cor.the demon.  
  
Don't cry.  
  
Connor didn't know why it hurt so much. It wasn't like he'd actually cared about these people. It wasn't like he'd begun to trust them or see them as friends. It wasn't like he'd actually thought they might one day become his family. It shouldn't hurt so much. It shouldn't hurt at all, damn it!  
  
Don't cry.  
  
He'd killed Cordy. He'd taken a sword and shoved it through her gut. He'd killed Cordy. He'd killed his child. He'd had to do it. He knew that. It wasn't like it was really Cordy. It was a demon that had possessed her. It wasn't Cordy.  
  
Don't cry.  
  
She'd taken his soul. She'd taken his father's soul and hid it. They'd found it, after Faith figured out that Cordy wasn't really Cordy. They'd found his soul and given it back to him. And then she killed him. He didn't know why it bothered him to see his father crumble into a pile of dust. Wasn't that what he'd always wanted? Wasn't it?  
  
Don't cry.  
  
He and Faith had attacked her then. The fight had been fierce. He hadn't known Cordy could fight like that, but then it wasn't Cordy they were fighting, was it? He'd been the one to kill her. Shoved a sword through her gut, right around the place where his child would be growing.  
  
Don't cry.  
  
Was she even pregnant? Really, he didn't know much about the subject, but was it really possible to tell so soon. She hadn't had a chance to go to a doctor and he knew she couldn't have gone and bought one of those test thingies he saw that commercial about. Maybe she was lying. She was a demon after all.  
  
Don't cry.  
  
Fred was crazy again. Gunn had told him some about how she'd been when they rescued her from Pylea. It didn't sound nearly as bad as she was now. She was writing on walls and mumbling to herself and she wouldn't let Wesley go more than ten feet away from her. She'd screamed her head off when he tried to go to the store for some more first aid supplies.  
  
Don't cry.  
  
He supposed it was from the stress. That and watching both Angel and Gunn die. Cordy had killed Gunn right in front of her. She'd found them in the basement, alone. By the time Connor and Faith got there Gunn was dead and Fred was covered in his blood. Cordy had thrown Gunn's head at her. Fred hadn't spoken since, except for the mumbling and the screaming that is.  
  
Don't cry.  
  
No one had gotten out of the fight unharmed. Wesley was the worst. Cordy'd cut his left arm off. He had a bad limp too, but that paled in comparison to the arm. Lorne was missing and eye. He said it would grow back eventually, but it might take a few months. Fred's arm was broken and she had two black eyes. Faith had various bumps and bruises, plus a few broken fingers. Connor was the best. He had a stab wound in his leg, but it was shallow. Everything else was just superficial damage.  
  
Don't cry.  
  
He heard the door open and looked up to see who it was. A man, a girl and a child. The man and girl looked pretty beat up.  
  
"We're closed." That hoarse sound was because he'd gotten punched in the throat. Yeah, that was it.  
  
"We need Angel." The man spoke. His voice sounded dead. Kind of like Connor's own.  
  
"He's dead. Wesley's in the courtyard." They seemed to slump even more than they already were, but there was no shock. The man crossed the lobby, heading for the courtyard. The girl sat down beside him with the child. Connor returned his gaze to the floor.  
  
Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. 


End file.
